The Approved Worker

If you are to lead a church, a bible study, or your family, you will need to learn how to deal with false teaching. Since the fall in the garden, the devil has been twisting what God says.

Paul has repeatedly warned in the pastoral letters that false teachers will enter the church for their master that great serpent Satan is always looking to deceive God’s people any way he can. Paul has charged Timothy to remove these charlatans and replace with qualified men. This pattern serves us today in how we choose those who would lead the church.

In our passage this morning, Paul is giving Timothy instructions on how a pastor/elder deals with false teachers. Teachers teach words to people. Words matter as they develop doctrine, theology and the gospel. The faithful pastor/elder is one who is approved or tested to see if the words he teaches and preaches is in fact the intended meaning of God’s word. Paul’s concern for Timothy and leaders is not just what they teach, but also how they treat false teachers.

Throughout history, people have been deceived and twist God’s word. This leads to great trouble in the church and Satan is behind this. He uses the same parlour tricks to create mayhem in the church. How does one remove false teachers and their poison from the church? This is what we will look into.

This is the point of Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus. Now today he emphasizes the qualities that a pastor/elder must have to be an approved worker in God’s Kingdom.

Why does this matter to you? Because your spiritual health is of great importance to God. Loving care of God’s people is a big deal to God. Jesus gave Paul clear instructions how to care for his Bride. Paul passed this onto Timothy and onto each one who oversees the flock. The importance of approved workers cannot be understated.

Let’s dig into this text to see why.

Point #1 - God’s Worker is Faithful.

If God is perfect in wisdom and he is, do you think that what he says matters to him? Should the one who teaches what God says make sure he is saying what God means to say to his people? Absolutely!

Paul gives warnings to Timothy to make clear what a workman of the Lord must not do.

In (14) Paul states that the elders are to be reminded of their duty that he laid out in our previous passage. He then charges Timothy before God not to quarrel about the truth with false teachers, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.

Quarrelling or having a “word war” ruins the hearers. This

To quarrel about words is to swerve from the truth of Scripture. The good workman of God does not deviate from the truth but stays within the bounds of Scripture. When he does this, he has no reason to be ashamed because he is rightly handling God’s word. He is teaching what God intended the words to mean. He is cutting it straight. However, the false teacher does not give the intent of God in his teaching. He makes crooked what God has declared straight.

In (16) Paul warns leaders to avoid irreverent babble. Irreverent means ungodly, unholy and profane. This is taking Scripture verses and using them in such a way that gives a meaning it never was intended for. You see this today with the prosperity gospel for example. They use texts that talk about blessings and healings and wealth without considering the context it was meant to say.

This leads to more and more ungodliness and their talk will spread like gangrene. This is graphic imagery that Paul intentionally uses to describe the spiritual and moral decay that ruins its hearers.

Where biblical illiteracy is at high levels, the uninformed Christian can think that if verses are used, it must be true. If a book is sold in a “Christian” book store, it must be the truth. This just isn’t the case. Thus Paul makes it very clear for elders to teach truth and reject what is false because the truth matters greatly to God.

Paul gives examples of Hymenaeus and Philetus who had taught that the resurrection had already happened. That when they die, their spirit lives on but their bodies decay. This teaching was twisting what Paul taught about the resurrection. These guys had swerved from the truth, they were irreverently handling God’s word.

Paul gives examples of Hymenaeus and Philetus who had taught that the resurrection had already happened. That when they die, their spirit lives on but their bodies decay. This teaching was twisting what Paul taught about the resurrection. Even though Paul taught in Ephesians about an already but not yet life in Christ, these yahoos were teaching his message falsely.

The faithful worker of God holds fast to the truth and gives the proper meaning. This makes them approved by God and pleasing in his sight. The unfaithful worker twists God’s word and ruins the hearers. Causing a shipwreck of their faith.

These guys had swerved from the truth, they were irreverently handling God’s word. Paul’s warning to Timothy is to not get caught up in this kind of behaviour as a good workman..

Point #2 - God’s Worker Does the Hard Work.

Even though these false teachers were upsetting the faith of the flock, (19) God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows who are his”, and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

No matter how far people twist the gospel or the message of the bible, God’s foundation is bedrock. It is not changed no matter what anyone teaches. For example, the Roman Catholic church had so twisted God’s word that it was the dark ages of the church. But God raised up Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Bunyan, Queen Marguerite and others to protest against Rome’s papacy and its devilish teachings. The Reformation was born because God’s foundation stands. It may look dark for a time, but the light of the gospel can never be put out.

This seal is a sign of ownership. God knows who are his people. They are sealed in the heart of God as his children. They have been purchased by the blood of the Lamb, the Son of God. His message by how the elect are saved is the gospel. Words spoken that the Holy Spirit uses to open the dead heart. That by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone the sinner is made right with God. Experiencing peace with God as his child. Isn’t it amazing that we can be such schmuks at times yet patiently and lovingly our Father continues to pick us up, remind us who we are and exhorts us to live out who we really are.

In (19c-21), we see clearly that God takes his word very serious.

In knowing who we are, this means we live differently than we used to. We fear God as the Holy One who created us and saved us. The approved worker seeks the will of God and desires to obey the Almighty. But when those who think that God is unfair, or that the truth is too restrictive, God deals with those who swerve from the truth with judgement.

These two phrases in (19b-c) are drawn from will leave you to read that on your own. If you are not familiar I will try to paraphrase it.

The gospel is words that God supernaturally uses to work in the soul.

Moses and Aaron were chosen by God as priests to the congregation. The Levites were in charge of the tabernacle and to minister to the people. They were given the honour to be separated from the people to be near God. Now Korah who was a Levite, Dathan, Abiram, On and some 250 well known and distinguished members of the community came against Moses and Aaron to claim the position of priesthood for themselves. They complained that Moses had exalted himself above the people. That God was among all of them so they should be able to be priests as well.

Moses fell on his face, he rebuked them for their insolence. He laid out clearly their arrogance and told them that their rebellion was not with Moses and Aaron but with the LORD himself. So Moses told them to come before the Lord the next day and then they would know whom the Lord had chosen to serve in this capacity. The next day they stood at the entrance to the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation that had gathered.

God tells Moses to separate the congregation from these wicked servants. The ground underneath them opens up and swallows these men and their possessions and their families alive and then covered up over them in judgement for their irreverent babble.

Paul draws on this passage to hit home the point that God’s people have a responsibility to separate themselves from iniquity. To cleanse themselves from false teachers and their foolish controversies and dangerous doctrines.

Paul illustrates this with a story about vessels in a great house. Ones that are gold and silver for honourable use, eating and drinking for royal banquets, serving platters that have the choicest of foods on display. And then the vessels of clay and wood that are meant for dishonourable use such as garbage cans and pails to remove human excrement.

Paul means to say here that God’s people have a duty to remove what is false from their midst so they can be honourable vessels that God can use for his glory. They are to separate themselves from false teachers and their twisting of Scripture because they ruin the hearers and are like a cancer that kills and destroys.

This is done by calling them to repent. If they don’t repent, they are to turn them over to Satan like Paul did with Hymenaeus in his first letter. The church is to discipline the wayward member who is leading astray the flock. This is the meaning of “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” The separating, the cleansing, the disciplining of the false teacher is the duty of the church so as to purge wickedness from their midst. When a member is excommunicated, the Lord is among those who are executing judgement on behalf of the Lord.

By the grace of God, we may not have those among us that are leading you falsely, but I ask you this. What books do you read, which preachers on tv or internet that you watch are rightly handling God’s word? Are they leading you towards holiness? Are they for honourable use that builds up your faith or dishonourable that needs to get thrown out?

God knows who are in his hand so let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity…the faithful pastor/elder needs to do the hard work. He must rightly handle God’s word, and he must implement the word in removing what is false.

Point #3 - God’s Worker is Gentle.

Now Pau

So as one who is presenting himself to God as a faithful and tested worker for the Lord, there is natural implications for how one lives this out. First of all, Timothy is to flee his youthful passions. He is to flee the immature impulsive behaviour along with the sexual desires that can tempt one more at a younger age who lacks self control.

He is to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace (fruits of the Spirit). He is to do this along with the gathered church. He is to model it for the body so they see how one lives as a disciple of the Lord.

He is warned by Paul to not get involved in foolish controversies which means speculations about things that may or may not be true. Things that can create unnecessary division within the body of Christ. Trying to match wits with someone who is ignorant or uneducated about something is a fools game. Proverbs is loaded with trying to argue with a fool so don’t get bogged down with that, they only lead to quarrels and ruins the hearers.

(24) The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but be kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. (Read again).

In our day this is a much needed word from the Lord to hear and obey. Online squabbles about doctrine, bickering about the tone used behind a tweet, being quick to call someone a heretic, anger, nasty words and the list goes on.

Paul’s concern for Timothy is to be winsome with both truth and kindness. Our attitude matters greatly to God. The pastor/elders that Timothy is to set up in churches needs to be surgical in removing false teaching with a scalpel. Not like a wild man with a chainsaw.

When we are careful and loving, we may win someone back to the faith by being kind, clearly teaching the intended meaning of God’s word, patiently enduring angry words instead of biting back, correcting with gentleness. By being filled with the spiritual fruit, the Lord may grant repentance to the wayward soul, releasing him/her from the snare of the devil that they have been caught in.

I want to address you who are parents in particular this morning. The world is going to throw everything at you and your children to discredit God and the bible. From creation to obedience to salvation and everything in between. I plead with you to make sure you take every effort, to do your best to remove daily what is false and speak truth into your children’s lives (cartoons that undermine parents). Ask them what they learning in school and from friends? Then gently correct them for the love and glory of God. This builds, not ruins.

Children, listen to your parents. They love you and want the best for you. Their desire is for you to follow Jesus just like they do.

Conclusion: Brothers and sisters, may God help us to be humble like Moses. He didn’t rejoice over Korah’s rebellion, he fell on his face on their behalf. God has been so good to us in saving us from sin. Jesus endured our hate filled, poison tongued venomous words. When we rejected his gospel, he continued to pursue us because of his great love. When God breathed life into our dead soul and we believed in Jesus as our Saviour, did we not find him so merciful and kind? Let us in response to this grace reach out to those who are deceived. Let us pray for them, let us be kind in reaching out and trying to gently correct their bad theology. For God may remove the scales from their eyes and you may have had a hand in snatching them from the fires of hell.

We may win someone back to the faith by being kind, clearly teaching the meaning of God’s word, patiently enduring angry words instead of biting back, correcting with gentleness. By being filled with the spiritual fruit, the Lord may grant repentance to the wayward soul, releasing him/her from the snare they have been caught in.

When Korah and his band of rebels came against Moses and Aaron, the meekest man on the earth fell on his face in humility. This servant leader that God raised up to lead his people called these wicked men to repent. They did not and they were judged by a miraculous event. Let us be faithful workers who gently correct our opponents with love and patience. Let us plead with God for those who are lost and pray that God would grant them repentance and true saving faith so they would escape judgement.

Let us who lead in the church, who teach SS, who teach one another and who teach our children at home make our verse on the fridge that we meditate on. Let us make every effort to do our absolute best, with whatever time we have, whatever gifts we have, to present ourselves before God as one approved, one who rightly handles God’s word and we will have no need to be ashamed.

Are you caught in Satan’s trap of deception? Has God opened your spiritual eyes to see his beauty and glory? His mercy and forgiveness? Turn from your sin and trust in Jesus for the salvation of your soul.

Benediction: Jude 17-25